Davante Adams has missed the last three games due to a hamstring injury but he’s expected to play this week for the New York Jets. He hadn’t played since requesting a trade from the Las Vegas Raiders and many have noted how healthy he looks now that he’s where he wants to be.
He credited that Raiders staff for getting him right.
“Thank you for asking about the injury. I’m feeling great, man,” Adams said on the October 15 episode of “Pat McAfee Show.” “I was working with the staff in Vegas the whole time and they got me back right, so fortunately I’ll be able to roll.”
However, many fans and pundits think it’s a bit odd that his recovery coincided with the trade. It’s going to be difficult to know how serious Adams’ injury was but it’s not the best look that he looks healthy and ready to play so quickly.
The recovery timeline was always a few weeks and it’s been that long since he requested the trade. The optics aren’t great but Admas likely isn’t too concerned with what the Raiders think of him at this point.
Insider Calls Out Adams for Quitting on Raiders
Regardless of the severity of his injury, it’s easy to buy into the idea that Adams quit on the Raiders. The Athletic’s Vic Tafur broke down why he believes that’s the case.
“When you quit on your team on a Victory Monday, I think that’s a really rare and weird thing,” Tafur said on the October 17 episode of the “Just Win podcast.” “The team is 2-2 [and] I think that’s an odd time to go into Pierce’s office and say ‘I can’t be here.’ Then my bigger problem really is the next day, he goes on the ‘Up and Adams Show’ and kind of points the finger at Antonio Pierce saying with the Instagram post and [saying] we haven’t talked and I don’t know what that’s about when clearly he knew he asked for a trade the day before.
“To me, it was pretty disingenuous of him. I just think some fans say he quit on the team and I can’t disagree with that. Whatever his reasons were, like he was frustrated and that’s not what he signed up for and he hates the quarterbacks, but he did quit on the team. I think that’s factually accurate.”
Asking for a trade following a win is a bold move, especially since Adams repeatedly called out trade rumors as fake. That said, it didn’t make much sense for the Raiders to keep him so a trade may have been inevitable.
Can Adams Save the Jets?
Another reason why it’s hard to get behind Adams in this situation is that he specifically wanted to go to the Jets, which is a 2-4 team that recently fired its head coach. They aren’t much better than the Raiders and their history isn’t very good either.
Adams is entirely banking on a 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers to turn his season around. It’s unlikely that one wide receiver is enough to save a failing team. The Jets will win some games but making the playoffs could be a pipe dream.
